"Jke" > wrote in
:

>>>
>>> --
>>> Rhonda Anderson
>>> Cranebrook, NSW, Australia
>> Hey, I just googled it, and it sounds like Crisco, altho it's made
>> from coconut. Seems like butter might be a better alternate- at least
>> in the flavor dept
>
> I think shortening would set up a lot better, especailly after having
> been melted.
>

Yes, butter doesn't set hard like copha does. I wouldn't want to eat a
lot of it, but it doesn't impart an unpleasant taste to foods it's used
in, unless you dislike coconut.

Probably the most common use of copha here is to make Chocolate Crackles
and White Christmas - recipes follow. Butter would not be a successful
substitute.

I searched Google and found that I posted these two recipes back in '99.
Saves me some typing now. I've just copied them, including some notes on
ingredient translations that I included back then.

Chocolate Crackles


4 cups Rice Bubbles
1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup desiccated coconut
250g copha


Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Melt copha and cool slightly.
Pour copha onto dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Place
spoonfuls of mixture into paper cake cases. Leave to set in the
refrigerator.


White Christmas


3 cups Rice Bubbles
1 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup sifted icing sugar
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup mixed dried fruit
250g copha


Mix all dry ingredients together. Melt copha and cool slightly. Pour
onto dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Press into greased 30 x 20cm
lamington tin and refrigerate overnight. Cut into squares when set.


Glossary: Rice Bubbles - these are same as US Rice Krispies
Desiccated coconut - this is not the sweetened coconut that I
have been told you find in US supermarkets. This is just
simply dried out coconut meat - quite fine little pieces.
I've been told you may need to go to a health food store, or
natural foods store to find it in the US
Icing sugar - confectioner's sugar in US
Mixed dried fruit - the commonly commercially available stuff
labelled mixed dried fruit here would contain raisins,
sultanas, currants and "imitation cherries". You could use
any of these really and I don't see why you couldn't use
proper glace cherries.
Copha - solidified coconut oil - as far as I know Copha is
not available outside Australia. Kathy Bloor(NZ) mentioned a
product she uses called Kremelta. I don't know how available
that is. Possibly some other solid vegetable shortening would
be suitable, but there may be major changes in the taste. I
would think you could just use any coconut oil you can get
as long as it is pure. It will set when cold enough. Worth a
try anyway.
Lamington tin - lamingtons are squares of sponge cake which
have been coated in chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated
coconut. A lamington tin is the tin you bake the sponge slab
- in from which you cut the squares,so substitute any sort of
rectangular tin around this size which is at least a couple
of inches deep.


--
Rhonda Anderson
Cranebrook, NSW, Australia